Door handle assembly



A g 1952 J. H. ROETHEL DOOR HANDLE ASSEMBLY Filed May 15, 1950 INVENTOR. Jkr zzaezlzez.

Patented Aug. 12, 1952 fietroit; 'M iehL assigmii to Detroit, I

This invention relates tojdoorhandleas'sem' bli'es, especially for automobile doors, andreiers more 'narticularly to a type of outside door handle having an integral housing portion adapted to receive therein apush' button means for actuatinga latch m'echanisriito permit the door'rt'o be opened. v f nthe present invention the handlef'is formed at, that 'thefhair'id grip eruse exte ds" aliov afid beyond the portion forming the hbil'sih'iii which the push button means is mounted so as to bro'videia' shield ove lying, the push button. This shield fiortionbf the handle thus pibtct s theip'ush button against,daniagefintheevent, the debris swung into an obstruction ens struck by an, object such as" another j swinging, door, as frequently occurs when vehicles are lparkedlclos'e to eachjotherf in parking area; The; shield portion of the handle also acts esaidene fire'ventin the aduinulationbf wateiflaifid Show about the hush button'landgthus reducingfthe possibility of .the push jbiitton fre'ezing within thehoiising during cold weather. a a

.- t anobje'et or, theini/ention tsj s're idege door h'ahdleof theforegoing general description which has an attractive eppe reii e; is relatively inexpensive to manu fa cture is of sturdy construction to withstandany stre'sses plaeed thereon, is easily installed on the vehicle door, and iirovidesa means ofmounting the push button so that it maybe efficientlyand efiectively pushed inwardly to actuate the latch -mecha nism. v I

It is-aiurther object of the invention to. -proq aha d emb avin a p s ut o chm pushed w r. b humb; Pr s: sure with a minimum of strain on the thumb. h n th e s e ten e p lm-d w -erasp the hand grip portionof the handle assembly; the thumb inits most relaxed position will lie b l w e ne D a h n.1-- Acc rd ly. the. p s tt n l cat e ow t e. ngitu i l axis of' the hand gripflilortion and thus is in a pOSltiOZL-tg be engagedby the thumb without contortivemovement of the latter. application ;is a continuation impart of my copending application '77,51 9,--fi1ed February Otherdetails andobjects of the-partieular embodiment of the invention herein illustrated will-appear in the following descri tion. reference; being had to the accompanying drawings forming a partof the specification wherein like reference; numeralsdesignate corresponding parts in the severalr viewsp 3' clams; (Cl. 292 53363 rug, 1 ifsa fra'gmentary side elevation of a portion'of an automobile body provided with swm gmguoors upon which door handles made in e cor ance' with the present invention {are installed. v

ig. Z is' 'an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken, substantially through lines. 2-52 of Fig. '1 looking in .the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 isj'aflfrag'mentary vertical section taken substantiallyithrough f1ine s13 "3' "f'Fig. 2 lookl3 f re explaining in detail thebres'ent' inventio'riit is tov be understood thatth'e" invention is-m't limited in its "appn auon to the; details or con t uctionand, arrangement 'of parts illust d in the acbompanyin'gl, drawings, since the i'nven iseditable oi'other embodiments. and Of bih'g pra'qticed Oi darlfidrbutrin .VaribllSWayS. Also it is tof be jvu'nd'ers'tood thatthe iihras'eology or'termiholiogy employed therein is for the purpose of "'de's'eriptidnand vI lOt Of limitation. n in t e rawings "there" is illustrated by way f xample, one" embodiment vof the present invenu'omas' afiplid tothe' door or an automobile body; As: illustrated' ini Fig. .1] the automobile may, generally "designated at A, provided with afi o'nt doc-13 which is hinged atiits front edge seas to sw ng against a door-postorlbodyhillar in accordaneejwithconventional practice The a or emme 'ien bet ri me e. he: pl ne. 10 we rmines s. w t inar' n ti e verse ie edg' s r rt on U. d naihe tix i jfi b' ec', e Y th door' r me-Y pst bo'dypillar. 1 h U I iThe I lustrated handle assembly, Q generally designated I2, is shownmountedon the; outer si e 9 th Y d o pan .a m er ve e a i 2 e rd v qa e ral ie e ed; 3. mounted within the door. frame:structure. ..,It ll he un erst od; howeven; that the invention is not; limited to the particulariilatch, deviceher-l n empl yed b rwavfl-ofrexampl'e.

-Th e illustrated latch:- device' l3 ilcomprises case-plate I4 provided withxscr'ewbosses a by means of; whi'chfthe' case-plate is securedto theinner side; of the :j-amb portion {I l' or. the door; -Thed'case:- plate terminates at its" inner edge-in a flange 15' fading the inner door panel v (not; shown) The latch device is preferably provided with a rotatableptoothed latch or bolt i6: positioned at the-"outer face of the case" plate Hi", thislatcherlholt'havinean'integral pr'oiect' ing shaft or' shank l1 extending through an aperture-"in the" case plate which is formed withabear'inafor'the bolt shaft: Theiniie'f end of 3 the shank I! of the bolt is flattened and extended through a correspondingly shaped aperture in a rotatable toothed detent engaging member or ratchet member I8 and is riveted thereto.

The rotatable latch bolt I6 as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, is formed with a number of radially projecting tooth-like projections I6 a, preferably six, which are spaced equally around the periphery of the bolt so as to provide in effect a gear type latch or bolt. The ratchet member I8 is also formed around its periphery with a number of tooth-like abutments or projections [8a which correspond ,in numberto the tooth-like projections I 611 of the bolt;

spring 3| is suitably selected as to strength and has one arm connected to the lever arm 25 and the opposite end connected to the case plate I4. A resilient bumper 32 is fastened to the case plate I4 in position to be engaged by the end The release lever 22 of the latch device I3 .may be swung so that its arm 24 will lift the detent arm out of engagement with the Pivotally mounted on a shoulder rivet is secured i to the case plate I4 is a swinging detent, pawl, or dog which has a downwardly extending detent ratchet I8 either by an operator accessible from the outside of the vehicle or by one accessible from.- the inside of the vehicle. In Fig. 2, a fragmentary portion 33 of a bell crank lever arm is shown overlying the release lever arm 21.

Downward movement of the arm 33 upon actuaarm 20 cooperable with the teeth or projections I 8a of the ratchet member I8. The detent arm 20 is engageable with any one of the teeth IBa in the manner'shown inFig. 2 to hold the ratchet member and hence the'bolt I6 in a locking position against rotation in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. Extending from the outerpart of the detent arm 20 in an outward and down- Ward direction is a second arm 2 I this arm lying substantially in the plane of the ratchet mem 'be'rf I8' and spaced outwardly therefrom.

Associated with the detent is a vertically extending detent actuating or release lever 22 which is pivoted intermediate its ends upon a shoulder rivet or. stud 23 secured to the case plate. This lever has a lever arm 24 extending downwardlybelow the pivot 23 and terminating in a hook-like projection Magwhichoverliesthe detent arm 2L. The innerend of the hookj-like projection 2 4 a is embossedtc form a curved lug 24b engaging the inner edge 21a of the detent arm 2|. By virtue of this construction the lever arm 24 and. detent arm 20 are interconnected by means of the'lug or projection 24b on the hook-like portion 24a engaging beneath the extended portion of the detent arm 2ll. The detent release lever 22 also has an upwardly extending, lever arm '25 formed with an inwardly extending projecting portion 26 The upper end of the lever arm is enlargedand formed with a widened flange a. The detent release lever is also provided withaninwardly extending arm 27.

'The' detent arm 20 is yieldingly urged toward the ratchet plate 28 and the release lever 22 is similari'ly urged toward its normal position shown in'Fig. 2 by means of a single coiled spring 28 anchored at its inner end to a retainer 129 lanced out of the case plate. This spring has a downwardly extendingj arm 28a engageable with the upper edge of the detent arm 20 so as to yieldinglyhold the arm in latching engagement with a tooth I 8a of the ratchet member I8; Due to the interlocking connection between the hook-portion? of the=irelease lever 22 and the extension 2| of the detent arm ZB, the spring 28. will also function to urge the lever arm 24 inwardly and the lever arm 25 outwardly so as to r'naintainthem 'in' the normal nonoperated "position'shown in Fig. 2. Outward movement of the release lever under the influence of the springisf limited bya stop 30 which is in the form of a lug struck out from the edge of the case plate and positioned for engagement by the outer edge of the lever arm 25, as shown in Fig. 2. A light anti-rattle spring 3| may be provided to hold the lever arm 25 against the stop 30 when the detent arm 28 is swungupwardly relative to thelever arm 25. The coiled tion of a remote control mechanism handle on the inside of the door which is connected to the bell crank lever 33 will cause the arm 21 of the release lever to be swung downwardly. The resulting'pivotal' movement 'ofjthe release lever 22 will cause the arm 24 to lift the'detent arm 20 out of engagement with the ratchet I8 and willthus' permit the door to be unlatched. "A further detailed description of the remote control mechanism is not deemed necessary herein as the construction and arrangement of this mechanism forms no part of the present invention.

The latch device I3 has incorporated therein a member for blocking swinging movement of the release lever'arm 25 toward the flange I5. The' blocking member comprises a slide 34, a fragmentary pOItiQI1: .Of whichis shown in Fig. 2. 'The' slide 34 maybe shifted so that an upstanding channel shapedprojection 35 thereon' will be'inter'posed between the projection 26 on the release lever 22 and the flange II, thus blockingswinging movement'of the release lever arm 25 toward thefla'nge. A further detailed description of the slide 34 and, the mechanism for shitting the projection 35 thereon into and out of blocking relation to the projection 26 on the release lever arm 25 is also not deemed necessary herein as the construction and arrangement ofthe shifting mechanism does not pertain to the present'invention. I In the present embodiment of the invention a push or plunger type outside operator is provided for swinging the detent release lever 22 so as to raise the detent arm '20 out of engagement with the teeth I 8a of the ratchet member to permit the doorto be opened. A handle assembly "hereinbefore generally designated I2,- is rigidly securedto the outside door panel 20. The handle assembly I2 comprises a suitably contoured hand grip portion 36 formed integral- 1y at one endwith a housing portion 31- constructed to form a mounting for'a push'button 38. This push button 38, as best seen in Fig. 3, projects through an aperture 39 in the housing portion 3l'and is slidable therein within a cylindrical bore 40. A preferred method of preventing withdrawal of the pushbu'tto'n 38 from thebore is the provision of an integral flange 38a formed on-the push button, the flange having a diameter less than the diameter of the bore 40 but greater than the diameter of the aperture 39. l s

- The push button 38 has an integral reduced cylindrical extension or stem 4| which carries on its end an enlarged knob or button- When the handle assembly is mounted on the body panel the stem 4I projects "through an aperture 43 in the body panel and the button 42 abuts the flange 25a of the lever arm 25. Mounted within the bore ill is a retainer piece 43 having a central aperture through which the stem ll extends freely. Interposed between the retainer piece 43 and the flange 38a of the push button is a coiled return spring 34 which serves the purpose of urging the push button outwardly to its normal position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The retainer piece 45 is held within the bore 40 by a snap ring 45 seated in a groove 46 in the wall of the bore.

The forward end of the hand grip portion 36, as viewed in Fig. 1, is provided with a hook portion 41. In mounting the handle on the body panel the hook 41 is inserted through an aperture 48 in the body panel and engaged with the panel edge as shown in Fig. 3.

The end of the hand grip portion 36 adjacent the push button housing is provided with a projecting boss 49 having a tapped hole 50 therein. The boss 49 is inserted into an aperture in the body panel and the hole 50 is aligned with an aperture 5[ in the jamb l l of the door B. A bolt 52 is then inserted through the aperture 5| and threaded into the hole 50, thus fastening the handle to the body panel.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the hand grip portion 36 of the handle assembly [2 is formed integrally with an outwardly projecting portion 3611 which extends above and beyond the push button 38 so as to form a shield overlying the push button. The provision of the shield eliminates several disadvantages that would result if the push button projected outwardly from the body panel further than the adjacent portion of the handle. For example, when the release lever 25 is blocked against movement toward the flange l5 the push button 38 is also blocked against inward movement since the knob or but ton 42 of the push button stem 4| abuts the flange 25a. of the release lever. Thus, any object striking the push button a sufficiently hard blow could cause the push button stem 4! or the lever flange 25a to become bent, or would otherwise cause damage to the mechanism. In crowded parking areas it is a frequent occurrence for vehicle doors to be swung into the body panel of an adjacent vehicle with suificient force to damage the panel. The provision of the shield protects the push button against being struck by such a swinging door.

The shield portion of the handle also acts as a deflector preventing the accumulation of water and snow about the push button and thus reduces the possibility of the push button freezing within the housing during cold weather.

The location of the push button below the longitudinal axis of the hand grip portion of the handle assembly is advantageous in that it minimizes strain on the thumb when thumb pressure is exerted to push the button inwardly. When the hand is extended palm down to grasp the hand grip, the thumb in its normal position will extend below the plane of the palm. Thus, a push button positioned below the longitudinal axis of the hand grip portion will lie substantially in the path of straight inward movement of the thumb without requiring the thumb to be subjected to twisting movement.

Preferably, the hand grip portion 36 and the integral shield portion 36a has a cross sectional contour as shown in Fig. 2. As shown, the upper surface 361) slopes downwardly and the under surface 350 slopes upwardly, thus giving the handles a diminishing cross sectional thickness from the body panel outwardly. The downwardly sloping upper surface 36b aids in providing run-off of water falling on the handle. The upwardly sloping lower surface 360 provides clearance for the thumb as it is moved inwardly to depress the push button 38.

I claim:

1. A door handle assembly for a vehicle body comprising a hand grip member adapted to be secured to the body at opposite ends thereof, said member terminating at one end in a butt portion and an underlying housing portion integral therewith and depending therefrom, the outer face of said housing portion lying a substantial distance inwardly of the outer edge of said butt portion, a slidable push button mounted in said housing portion and normally projecting outwardly of the outer face thereof and below said butt portion, the latter projecting outwardly of and beyond the outer end of the push button to form a protective shield overlying the push button.

2. A latch actuating device comprising a handle adapted to be mounted on a vehicle outer body panel and having a hand grip portion and a housing portion integral therewith located at one end of the handle at a level below said hand grip portion thereof, said housing portion being disposed for mounting on the outer face of said body panel, a slidable push button mounted in said housing portion and having a member adapted to project beyond the plane of the body panel and abut a movable member of a latch device, and an integral shield portion on the end of said hand grip portion projecting outwardly above said push button a distance to overlie and substantially cover the latter.

3. A door handle structure comprising a handle member having a hand grip portion and adapted to be secured to the outer panel of a door, said member terminating at one end in a butt having an integral push button mounting portion located at a level below said hand grip portion and constructed for mounting on the outside of said door panel, a slidable push button mounted in said mounting portion for actuating a movable part of a latch device and normally projecting outwardly of the outer face of said mounting portion, said handle butt having an integral shield portion disposed at a level above the push button and its said mounting portion and projecting outwardly to overlie and cover a substantial portion of said push button.

JOHN H. ROETI-DJL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,784,935 Johnson Dec. 16, 1930 2,234,810 Simpson Mar. 11, 1941 2,270,559 Rolph et a1 Jan. 20, 1942 2,322,892 Spring-er July 29, 1943 

